Girls get in on the fun during Winter Bowl in Irvine

Fourth-grader Harley West said she mainly plays soccer. But when a football team at her school needed more players to compete in the 2016 Winter Bowl Saturday, she was ready to put on her game face.

Harley and nearly 500 other students in grades three through eight arrived at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine for the second annual Winter Bowl flag football tournament.

The event serves as a fundraiser for the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing science, math, arts, music and athletic programs for students.

Harley, a student at Stone Creek Elementary School in Irvine, is on one of seven student teams that her school brought to the tournament Saturday.

Besides helping out her teammates, the young athlete also said that her desire to compete came from watching her older brother Gibson West play on one of the winning teams in last year’s Winter Bowl.

“Playing sports is fun, challenging and you get to know other people on your team,” Harley said. “You learn with them.”

Both Harley and Gibson, now a sixth-grade student at Stone Creek, played in this year’s Winter Bowl.

Students in the Irvine and Tustin unified school districts registered for spots to compete around December. Schools were allowed to bring multiple teams to Winter Bowl.

Funds were raised from registration fees, a matching grant from the city of Irvine and some food sales at the event Saturday, according to the foundation’s director of development Tami Stegmaier.

Last year, the inaugural Winter Bowl rounded up around 300 students, and raised $2,300.

According to foundation President Neda Eaton, the success of the 2015 Winter Bowl led to its return this year.

New for many participating schools this year was the creation of all-girls’ flag football teams.

Mirabella LeVine, a sixth-grader from Bonita Canyon Elementary School, was proud to be a player on one of those teams Saturday.

“I’ve always liked football,” Mirabella said. “I play football with my brother on the street. Anyone can play, and girls can do whatever boys can do.”

In preparation for Winter Bowl, some schools have had their teams practice as much as three weeks in advance.

The teams’ coaches included volunteer parents and teachers.

“An event like this brings back intramural sports, which I really think Irvine is missing,” said Paul Molina, the parent coach to a third-grade team from Hicks Canyon Elementary School. “It brings a lot of camaraderie and school spirit to these kids.”

Games for every grade level from third to eighth were played at the competition. The winning teams for each grade were awarded Saturday evening.